Church Ceremony!

The church was the biggest decision of the wedding for me. My family and I have been parishioners of St. Martin De Porres church in Poughkeepsie for over 30 years. My sister, brother and I attended school there from kindergarten to eighth grade. My Dad was an usher since we were kids. He was always proud to work the “prime real estate” masses. They were 10:30am and midnight mass on Christmas eve. I don’t feel his presence at the cemetery. I do however feel it in the back of St. Martin De Porres church. I know a lot of what I talk about, with my wedding, involves him. To be honest I never realized just how much your Dad plays a role in the entire day. I told Sean early on that I couldn’t bare walking down the aisle without him. I didn’t want it to be a depressing moment. He suggested we check out the Marist Chapel. Since I’m an alumni, we have access to getting married there. We met with Father Lamorte, toured the chapel and signed up for pre-cana. It wasn’t until a month out that I realized I was running from my feelings. If I truly wanted to feel his presence, it had to be at St. Martin De Porres. We talked with the priest and he was completely understanding. By some dumb luck we were able to get a 2:30pm ceremony. There was a full mass wedding before ours and a mass that was happening right after our ceremony. That meant no receiving line after the ceremony. It also made our timeline to the reception tight. If you recently got engaged try to get the church booked right away.

I knew right away my brother was the one I wanted to walk me down. There was a gorgeous night when we were in LBI back in August. I asked Kevin to walk up to the beach with me. We had red solo cups full of homemade Sangria. The moon and stars were out and it was just so clear. We reminisced about Dad and how terribly we missed him. LBI was our family vacation spot every year. After we shared some tears, I asked if he was up for the job. He said “No Doubt.” We cried some more, laughed and hugged it out. That was an incredible moment for us.

Back to the Beekman arms! I made no plan of how myself and the girls were getting to the church. Sean surprised me and rented us a party bus. Good look babe! That was a lifesaver.

The most nerve-racking part of the day was the ride to the church. So many emotions are flowing. You are minutes away from solidifying the rest of your life. Truly surreal. <3

Colette to the rescue.

We vogued, toasted champagne and danced our way there!

Every bride should chantBeyonce on the way to the church.

We were about fifteen minutes late. Sorry ladies and gents.

It gave John a little extra time preparing his best man speech!

Colette got us the cutest Mr. and Mrs. flasks. She slipped me a few swings of bourbon before the ceremony.

Landon dropped the pillow and ran!! LOL

The one thing I was able to surprise Sean with was having a bagpiper lead me to him. Sean and I both have Irish blood. The one and only trip we ever took out of the country together was to Ireland. Something about the sound of a bagpipe that makes us both so happy. My time working at K104, I got to know a lot of the pipers from the Hudson Valley Regional Police Pipes and Drums. We walked parades together and drank our way through many pub crawls. I was able to work something out with John McGovern. Originally he was going to play the pipes as we left the church after the ceremony.I wanted to do it the traditional Irish way and have him precede me down the aisle. I wanted to make Sean smile and keep myself calm during the difficult walk. I was told it as ok months before. Things got a little crazy before I walked out. John text me to say he wasn’t allowed inside the church. My cousin Sarah wasn’t having it and said “ohh no, it’s Irish tradition, Goooooo.” John jumped and started playing. I grabbed my brothers arm for dear life and we walked out. It was such a dramatic moment I totally forgot to grab my bouquet.

When the pipe hit that last note it was pure silence. I looked up and saw Sean in tears. Not sure if it was me or the bagpipe that made him cry. hahaha Still an extremely emotional moment. And he shaved!!!!! That was a debate all year. He looked so handsome.

I’m so thankful that my brother stepped in. He was there for me ten fold. Thank you Kevin, I love you!

Something about being just the two of you on the altar solidifies that it’s you two against the world. We’re a true team and partnership now.

Father Lamorte was asking rhetorical questions in his sermon. I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to answer them. At one point he leaned in and said, “your not supposed to answer.” That’s the radio in me.

At one point my best friend Melissa was trying to fix my dress and tripped on the stairs. It was so quiet so the sound of it was hilarious.

The funniest part of the wedding ceremony was when we exchanged rings. Sean has the fattest fingers. Literally couldn’t get the ring past his knuckles. I’m sure his nerves made them more swollen.

Father Lamorte never said the line, “you may now kiss your bride.” Therefore we had a very awkward silence. He leaned in and whispered “this is where you kiss.” We went all in. hahahahaha

We couldn’t do a receiving line because they were preparing for mass right after our ceremony. The sad thing was that I missed so many people that came to just the church. I was devastated to hear that my friend Cat came to the church with her new son Maxwell. I never got to see them. 🙁

We hopped on the bus to head to the venue. We snuck a kiss in the back before we left.

We had about an hour until the cocktail hour started so we had to jet to Mills Mansion but not without making a gas station pit stop.

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Hello there, I’m Anne Marie Leamy. Born and raised in NY, I split my time between NYC and the Hudson Valley. My weekday mornings are spent on the airwaves at 95.5 PLJ. Simply Old Fashioned is my place to share favorite recipes, travel experiences, & my journey as a new mom. I look forward to connecting with you. Email me any time! xoxo